Lionel Messi has played 990 matches so far which means, hypothetically, the Qatar World Cup final could also be Lionel Messi’s 1,000th game as a professional football player.

The 7^th time Ballon d’Or winner has played a total of 990 matches, including 826 with Barcelona and 48 with Paris Saint-Germain, while he also has 164 caps for the Albiceleste.

In 990 games, the Argentina international has scored 691 goals and 326 assists for FC Barcelona, 19 goals and 23 assists for PSG, and 90 goals and 51 assists for Argentina.

This indicates that he is 10 games away from playing in 1,000 games. Messi will have 14 games remaining if Argentina advances to the championship, including six with PSG and eight with his country (seven in the World Cup and one friendly prior the tournament).

Messi’s probable games before World Cup final

Ajaccio vs PSG (Ligue 1)
PSG vs Maccabi Haifa (Champions League)
PSG vs Troyes (Ligue 1)
Juventus vs PSG (Champions League)
Lorient vs PSG (Ligue 1)
PSG vs Auxerre (Ligue 1)
United Arab Emirates vs Argentina (friendly)
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia (Group Stage – World Cup)
Argentina vs Mexico (Group Stage – World Cup)
Poland vs Argentina (Group Stage – World Cup)
Round of 16 (World Cup)
Quarterfinals (World Cup)
Semi-finals (World Cup)
Final (World Cup)

If he doesn’t play in 4 of these matches which could be the case, then Qatar World cup final will be his 1,000th game provided Argentina goes all the way.

In addition, Messi will join Antonio Carvajal, Gianluigi Buffon, Rafa Marquez, and Lothar Matthaus in the exclusive group of athletes who have participated in five World Cups.

He competed in quarterfinal matches in Germany in 2006, South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014, and Russia in 2018. (Round of 16).

The former Barcelona captain has 19 World Cup appearances to date. Should he play the seven matches leading up to the Qatar 2022 final, he would overtake Matthaus (25) as the player with the most games (26) in the history of the tournament.

It will be difficult to match the two records since Argentina, which has won the Copa America for the first time in 28 years and is undefeated in 35 games under Lionel Scaloni, should advance to and win the championship game.